| Authorised form of name | Elford; Sir; William (1749 - 1837) |
| Dates | 1749 - 1837 |
| Place of birth | Bickham House, near Plymouth |
| Date of birth | 01 August 1749 |
| Place of death | Totnes Priory, Devon |
| Date of death | 30 November 1837 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Burial:
Totnes parish church, Devon |
| Activity | Career:
Recorder, Plymouth; one of the founding fathers of the Plymouth Bank; MP, Plymouth (1796-1806); MP, Rye (1807-1808); joined South Devon Militia in 1786 and rose to rank of Lieutenant Colonel, South Devon Militia when he accompanied his regiment to Ireland 1798-99 during the Irish Rebellion. Was an artist of some renown, exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy after 1774-1837. Friend of two local artists - Joshua Reynolds and James Northcote, who painted both him and Lady Elford with her son. Friend of William Pitt the Younger. Chairman of the Plymouth Anti Slavery Committee, which first used the engraving by Deedle of Bristol of the Liverpool Slave Ship Brookes, showing 454Africans for their 1788 Anti Slavery pamphlet, the first use of the image following Clarkson's survey and later taken up and used by the London Committee. . Recorder for Plymouth 1797-1833; presented Freedom of the Ciy of Plymouth to Admiral Nelson in 1800; Recorder for Totnes 1832-1834. Was involved with the Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway linking Princetown to the quays at Plymouth's Sutton Pool.
In 1825 the Plymouth Bank failed, he had to sell his estate at Bickham, moved to live with his daughter adn son-in-law at The Priory, Totnes, where he died in 1837.
Honours:
Bt 1800
Memberships:
FLS (1813) |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 29/04/1790 |
| Relationships | Married 26 January 1776 Grace Davies, daughter of Rev John Davies, former headmaster of Plympton Grammar School. Three children, Jonathan (1776); Grace Chard (1781) and Elizabeth (1782). Remarried 5 July 1821 a widow Elizabeth Walrond, daughter of Humphrey Hall of Maradon and widow of Lt. Col. Walrond. Uncle of William Elford Leach (FRS 1816), the son of his sister Jane Elford of Bickham House. |
| OtherInfo | Correspondence at the Royal academy, ref. HU/2/69-71; |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB |
| Code | NA2840 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| EC/1790/03 | Elford, Sir William: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |